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Esso Williamsburg - (1941-1942)
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MS "Esso Williamsburg", build in 1941, was lost in 1924. All 60 hands lost.
Motor tanker with a Sun-Doxford Diesel engine, 8250 BHP.
( From a painting by W. Spencer Wright ).
"Esso Williamsburg".
"Esso Williamsburg".
"Esso Williamsburg".
The Miramar Ship Index for "ESSO WILLIAMSBURG"
IDNo:
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2240572
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Year:
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1941
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Name:
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ESSO WILLIAMSBURG
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Keel:
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Type:
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Tanker
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Launch Date:
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08.02.1941
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Flag:
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USA
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Date of completion:
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05.1941
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DWT:
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17950
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Yard No:
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207
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Length overall:
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166.8
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Ship Design:
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LPP:
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158.8
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Country of build:
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USA
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Beam:
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21.4
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Builder:
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Sun
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Material of build:
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Location of yard:
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Chester, Pa
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Number of screws/Mchy/Speed(kn):
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1D-15
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Subsequent History:
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Disposal Data:
Torpedoed and sunk by U 211, 23 Sep 1942, in 53.12N-41.00W, loss of position from lifeboat radio signal.
( all 60 dead ) [ Voyage Aruba-Reykjavik, fuel oil ]
History :
ON
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LR/IMO
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ID
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Year
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Name
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Tons
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Change
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Registered Owner
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240572
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-
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2240572
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1941
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ESSO WILLIAMSBURG
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11237
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-
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Standard Oil Co (New Jersey)
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Sisterships are Esso Little Rock, Esso Pittsburg, Esso Philadelphia and Esso Augusta.
ESSO WILLIAMSBURG
Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey; 1941; Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.; 11337 tons: 524-6x70-2x39-7; 915 n.h.p.;
15-2 knots; oilengines.
The tanker Esso Wttliamsburg, Capt. J. Tweed, left the island of Aruba, Dutch West Indies, for Reykjavik, Iceland, on September
12th, 1942, with a cargo of 110,043 barrels of fuel oil and a crew of 42 officers and men with 18 naval gunners. She sent a wireless
distress call at 8 24 a.m. on the 21st, and a blue flare was sighted about 450 miles S.E. of Cape Race, but nothing more was ever
heard of her.
Additional Information from Uboat.net :
Name: Esso Williamsburg
Type: Motor tanker
Tonnage: 11.237 tons
Completed: 1941 - Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co, Chester PA
Owner: Standard Oil Co of New Jersey, New York
Homeport: Wilmington
Date of attack: 23 Sep, 1942
Nationality: American
Fate: Sunk by U-211 (Karl Hause)
Position: 53.12N, 41.00W - Grid AK 7114
- See location on a map -
Complement: 60 (60 dead - no survivors)
Convoy:
Route: Aruba - Reykjavik
Cargo: 110.043 barrels of special Navy fuel oil History:
Notes on loss:
At 01.16 hours on 22 Sep, 1942, U-211 fired a spread of two torpedoes at the unescorted Esso Williamsburg (Master John Tweed),
which was steaming at 15 knots about 500 miles south of Cape Farewell, Greenland. Two hits were heard, but the tanker continued
and the contact was lost due to very poor visibility, so they probably missed.
At 00.26 hours on 23 September, one torpedo was fired from about 2000 yards, which struck amidships, causing a violent explosion
and set the ship on fire. Ten minutes later, the stern torpedo was fired but missed. At 01.05 hours, another torpedo was fired, which
struck on the starboard side amidships, causing the entire ship to light up in flames. The tanker broke completely in two and U-211 left
the scene with both parts of the tanker still sinking. None of the eight officers, 34 men and 18 armed guards (the ship was armed with
one 5in, one 3in, two .50cal and two .30cal guns) survived the sinking. A weak distress signal was recieved by a shore station, but an
extensive air and sea search failed to locate any survivors or wreckage.